Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Don't try to wish Israel a happy birthday on Michigan Public Radio

Michigan Public Radio has refused a four-word advertisement wishing Israel a happy birthday, calling it 'radioactive.' This came via Honest Reporting.

For sponsoring a day’s broadcast of Michigan Public Radio, Lisa Lis
was told she was entitled to have a message broadcast on the air. She
chose a four-word sentence, “Happy 68th birthday, Israel.” The station
rejected that line as too radioactive, saying, “this message would compromise the station’s commitment to impartiality and that it crosses over into advocacy, or could imply advocacy,” reports Deadline Detroit.

My hope for Israel as it celebrates 68 years of statehood
is that the public will cease to treat any mention of Israel as a
controversial topic. A non-political offering of congratulations to Israel on its anniversary of independence should be taken at face value and not made into a controversy.

If you think Michigan Public Radio was 'winging it' in order to find an excuse for not carrying the message... you're right. Here's more from that Deadline Detroit link.

Lis, a self-proclaimed progressive and strong supporter of
Israel, whose husband is Israeli and whose son is in the Israeli Defense
Forces, wanted her message to celebrate Israel. Eventually she settled
on "Happy 68th Birthday Israel." Israel celebrates Independence Day this
year on May 12.

Initially, "blessing" was in her message, but the station said that
implied something religious, so she dropped that word. Then the station
said it couldn't accommodate the wish because it needed two months'
notice.

Then the station rejected the message outright. Alison Warren, associate director of development, wrote in an April 26 email:

Dear Lisa,

We will not be able to air your day sponsorship message as written.

We have determined that this message would compromise the station's
commitment to impartiality and that it crosses over into advocacy, or
could imply advocacy.

If there is another message, perhaps celebrating a birthday or
anniversary of an individual, please let me know and I'd be happy to
assist you.

"I'm very upset," said Lis, a daughter of Florine Marks of Weight
Watchers' fame. "It’s sad. There's plenty anti-Israel messages out
there, and they won't allow something for Israel." Lis said she and her
husband, Hannan Lis, donate $40 per month.

...

Last Friday, Lis took it to the next level, writing about the conflict in a weekly newsletter emailed to about 1,000 people.

I am in a battle with Michigan Radio to use my Day Sponsorship to wish
Israel Happy 68th birthday. They denied my request because they said it
would "compromise the station's commitment to impartiality and that it
crosses over into advocacy".

Why would Public Radio need to be impartial about a legally
recognized country other than the fact, many want her wiped from the
face of the earth. Would it be a problem if it were the birthday of
England, Norway or South Sudan?

Israel is a hot button country that the world has accepted as
questionable and debatable and the major infraction Israel has committed
is purely her existence. By the way, I truly look forward to expressing
my same salutation when Palestine can celebrate her birthday.

Deadline Detroit emailed executives at the station Sunday and left phone messages Monday.

The current request was denied because it doesn’t meet our day
sponsorship policies, which state “typical messages honor an
individual’s birthday, anniversary, retirement, graduation, or other
personal event.”

In accordance with our rules governing donor acknowledgments,
announcements containing political or religious messages are not
acceptable This was shared with the donor.

This policy is not unique to this station and is similar to other public radio stations across the country.

Michigan Radio describes itself as "the state’s most listened-to public radio service, . . .with a broadcast signal that reaches 80% of Michigan’s population." Its three stations -- WUOM in Ann Arbor, WFUM in Flint and WVGR in Grand Rapids.-- "serve approximately 500,000 listeners each week across the southern half of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula."

...

Interestingly, during the volley of emails, Larry Jonas, director of
development at Michigan Radio, responded about whether it would allow
"Happy Birthday Norway."
Jonas wrote to Hannan Lis:

The answer to your question about whether or not we would allow a
"Happy Birthday Norway" is no. . . . We would not air such a message.
Harmless as it may seem, it forces us to make the choice between which
countries or political bodies are worthy of on-air recognition and which
are not.

Mind you, in the initial response, the station said wishing happy
birthday to Israel "would compromise the station's commitment to
impartiality and that it crosses over into advocacy, or could imply
advocacy."

Jonas would be hard-pressed to find many groups protesting U.S. policy in Norway.

Maybe it's time for the Lis's to find a new charity to which to donate that $40 per month. Since their son serves in the IDF, how about American Friends of the IDF?

2 Comments:

Like almost every college/university in the USA, "public" radio and television are run by progressives/leftists. As such they are heavily biased against: Christians, Jews, whites, and anyone who works hard to provide for themselves rather than rely on the government. Michigan Public Radio is no exception.

I would give the station the benefit of the doubt here, because the "happy birthday" message is usually for a person, not a country.

It seemed at first that this was personal toward Israel, but when someone attempted to try a message aimed at Norway, it became apparent that the station is at least consistent about what is appropriate to air under the rules. So I would not condemn them (and I would be very careful about this particular A-bomb, if you catch my drift). Maybe making a charitable donation to something else is appropriate.

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About Me

I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com